Full Description
Basic Cantonese introduces the essentials of Cantonese grammar in a straightforward and systematic way.
Each of the 28 units deals with a grammatical topic and provides associated exercises, designed to put grammar into a communicative context. Special attention is paid to topics which differ from English and European language structures.
This new edition features:
• clear, accessible format
• lively examples to illustrate each grammar point
• informative keys to all exercises
• glossary of grammatical terms
Basic Cantonese is ideal for students new to the language. Together with its sister volume, Intermediate Cantonese, it forms a structured course of the essentials of Cantonese grammar.
Contents
Introduction
1 Consonants
2 Vowels and diphthongs
3 Tone
4 Pronouns
5 Possession: ge
6 Possession and existence: yáuh
7 Being: haih
8 Noun classifiers
9 Adjectives
10 Adverbs of manner
11 Adverbs of time, frequency and duration
12 Comparison: gwo and dī
13 Prepositions: space and time
14 Negation
15 Verbs of motion: heui and làih
16 Verbs of giving: béi
17 Verbs and particles
18 Actions and events: jó and gwo
19 Activities: gán and jyuh
20 Auxiliary verbs
21 Passives
22 Word order and topicalization
23 Yes/no questions
24 Wh-questions
25 Sentence particles
26 Imperatives
27 Requests and thanks
28 Numbers, dates and times
Key to exercises
Glossary of grammatical terms
